MLWP 30

Chapter 30

“Kyaaak!”

The serpent’s head crumbled like a collapsing sandcastle. It seemed its heart had been located near the head.

“Lucky shot!”

Then, that all-too-familiar sensation hit again—the world narrowing, vision fading.

Of all times, now?

“If you’re gonna show me something at a time like this, at least make it useful!”

The world shifted like an illusion.

It was a space that looked like a deep underground chamber, and from within it, a spring bubbled up—a strange spring glowing with a red hue.

Just like Illode’s mana.

“……”

A tense-faced Illode appeared. Then a voice—his own—echoed in my mind, carrying information that came out of nowhere.

“That’s the Spring of Stars.”

A spring said to hold the magic power of this very star.

Illode approached the spring and abruptly knelt. Without hesitation, he plunged his head into the water. I could almost feel the moment the springwater ran down his throat.

Thud.

Then something opened inside his body. A wave of overwhelming mana burst forth.

Illode lifted his head from the spring, rolling on the ground in pain, his hand reaching upward. On the back of that hand, something burned into his skin.

A familiar mana circuit.

Wait a second. As far as I know, this guy was born with his mana circuits already open.

Then what was this?

It was as if I was seeing a different life altogether—
A life where Illode wasn’t born with those circuits.

Boom!

“Celia!”

My vision snapped back.

The exhibition halls—layer upon layer of them—were collapsing.

“This way!”

Looking down, I saw Crondel reaching a tense hand out toward me.

Celia leapt from the crumbling serpent’s head and fell straight toward Crondel’s position on its body. As she grabbed the prince, the air quaked violently.

“Back into Ferriot’s exhibition hall!”

Celia shoved Crondel through the doorway. The surrounding structures disintegrated one after another, turning into sand that poured in waves. Celia looked at Crondel.

“Got a plan?”

“Of course!”

Crondel struck the floor of the exhibition hall, and something sprang up—a brick inscribed with magical runes. He pressed his bleeding hand against it, and the runes glowed gold.

“What’s that?”

“It’s for when members of the royal family get lost inside. Basically… an emergency escape button.”

At the same time, Crondel pulled out a watch, his face tense. Celia checked hers too—only about three minutes left until midnight. They’d been told they had to leave before then.

“What happens if we don’t get out today?”

“Then we’ll have to wait for the next time the door opens. Maybe a month…”

Rumble. The sound of black sand crushing the exhibition hall filled the air. Crondel slammed his palm against the brick.

“This thing needs two more minutes for the magic mechanism to activate—”

“It runs on mana?”

“Basically, yeah—”

Celia slapped her hand on it too, pouring mana into it as hard as she could. The brick shook violently, and the entire room began rising rapidly.

Whirrr. The magic device roared louder and louder. At the same time, the corners of the hall started disintegrating. Crondel grabbed Celia and shouted—

“Stay close to—!”

Boom!

A deafening crash—and the exhibition hall collapsed.

Cough!

Crondel hacked up water. They’d been flung out of the treasure vault—great. But the vault entrance happened to open into a lake, which was less great. The instant they escaped, they’d plunged straight into the cold night water.

Celia was in the same situation, though her reaction was very different. As if she’d expected it, she dove smoothly and pulled Crondel to shore.

“Great.”

Water droplets rolled down their clothes, soaking the lakeside. Celia glanced down at her drenched outfit and muttered,

“This was expensive.”

It had been valuable enough to sell later if she ever needed to disappear. That thought stung a bit. After all that effort, the only real profit was Ferriot’s favor—and not much else.

Seeing her expression, Crondel spoke quietly.

“…I’ll compensate you.”

“Double.”

“…Triple compensation.”

Well, that was practically a villa fund for her next “disappearance.” Finally, the hard work felt somewhat worth it. Even the ripped hem of her dress had survived.

Celia turned toward Crondel. He looked just as soaked and bedraggled as she did, which was amusing in its own way. For all his annoying traits, she felt he at least deserved a few kind words.

“You did well back there.”

“Heh.”

Crondel gave a sheepish laugh, brushing back his wet bangs. Moonlight glistened in the droplets sliding down his forehead.

“I don’t know. It just felt like… that’s what I should say in that moment.”

“Those spirits probably wanted to hear that from the tyrant himself.”

“Yeah.”

Still, hearing something—anything—might have been better than silence. Crondel’s smile carried a faint bitterness.

“Anyway,” Celia pointed toward the lake, “what now?”

“…Hmm.”

The treasure vault’s entrance had vanished at midnight, but a massive amount of black sand had spilled out. Among it, the royal family’s treasures glittered faintly. The vault must have expired, ejecting its contents.

“Killing the vault is one thing…”

But the sand was filling up the lake fast.

“At this rate, it’s gonna bury the whole thing. What about the fish?”

She remembered how expensive those fish had looked when they’d walked over the lake earlier. Crondel made a pained face.

“…Father’s not going to like this.”

“You mean, the part where you destroyed the royal vault?”

They’d dropped that topic earlier—but it was back, and just as troublesome.

“Maybe he’ll understand if I say a beast came out and I had no choice.”

“You and I are the only ones who saw the beast.”

“Somewhere in there, you’ll find the beast’s heart you cut out.”

“Ah.”

Even when a beast’s body disappears, its heart remains—a transparent crystalline core like the Heart of the Earth.

“It’ll definitely prove it was a beast.”

“Yeah. There was a similar case near the capital recently—a beast was killed at a dorm school. We can compare the hearts to confirm it faster.”

“Hm.”

“As for the treasures, we can always recover them later. Father might even be pleased. A beast’s heart is worth far more—it’s rare.”

She’d thought he was charging in recklessly, but he’d actually thought of a cover story. The beast’s appearance had been coincidence—but he knew how to turn coincidence into opportunity.

Suspicious, yet clever…

And that thing he’d said to her earlier—it had sounded sincere, too.

Half of her wanted to believe him. The other half didn’t.

Celia studied the prince again. The night breeze rippled over the lake. His lips, faintly blue from the cold, moved as she whispered,

“You should go inside before you freeze.”

“Ah. Right… Sorry. You can’t really go back to the briefing hall like that, huh.”

He looked regretful, glancing at her wet red hair and soaked clothes. Celia shook her head.

“It’s fine. The crown princess took me with her—everyone probably thinks I’m still with her.”

“What about your patron?”

“She’s not the type to scold me for this.”

Flier Diaman would probably feel guilty for not helping.

“Go on ahead. If someone sees us together now, it’ll turn into a scandal.”

“But I can’t just leave a lady alone at this hour—”

“Still saying that after watching me fly?”

Crondel laughed weakly. As she nudged him to move, he suddenly blurted something unexpected.

“Actually… there’s something else I wanted to say—about the briefing.”

“What?”

“You still haven’t decided on your major class, right?”

“If they open a magic-swordsman class, I will.”

“And if they don’t? You’ll enroll in both the magic and sword divisions?”

“No. I’ll join the academy’s magic and sword divisions.”

“Why not the Magic Tower? I heard the Tower Master personally invited you.”

Celia sighed.

“He’s… quite the character.”

“Haha. Isn’t he, though?”

“So I’d rather not. I can learn the basics from the academy anyway.”

Then Crondel said suddenly—

“I wish you’d just go to the Tower.”

“……”

“Selfish of me, huh?”

His gaze was tangled with emotion.

Crondel was a little obsessed with magic. He probably envied that the Tower Master—the strongest mage alive—had personally scouted Celia.

“If you go there, you’ll do great. Then you can teach me even better.”

“…Ah, right. That.”

She’d almost forgotten—he’d asked her to be his magic partner. Crondel murmured, sounding a bit hurt,

“Try to remember that, will you? You’re all I’ve got.”

“Don’t say it like that, it sounds weird. Anyway—do you even know how to open a mana circuit?”

“Probably? I have one, but no one ever taught me how to use it properly.”

“…And here I thought you said the royal magicians were too rigid for your taste.”

“Oops.”

He flinched. Celia frowned.

“So it’s not that you didn’t want to learn, you couldn’t?”

“That’s why I asked you to teach me. I told you—they never really teach anything.”

“Unbelievable.”

“It’s hard doing it alone. Every time I think I’ve opened it, the mana just won’t flow right. Guess I’m not talented.”

Celia sighed.

“I can’t promise I’ll go to the Tower.”

“I know.”

“Then I’ll see you.”

With that quiet farewell, the prince left. The wind by the lake grew sharp, slicing through the silence.

“Now then.”

Celia spoke toward the bushes behind her.

“I think it’s time you and I had a little chat.”

Under the moonlight, a pair of silver eyes glinted coldly.

“What do you think?”